SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC047 July 2021- Winners announced

[Shea]

Looks like I've missed the mark.
This was not my final entry hence no documentation and wrong title format. It was just for some feedback based solely on the sound.
What drove my inspiration for this song was this statement - We are especially looking for a more ambient based soundtrack that can be used on the "tactical map", but also during possible "conflict" close-ups.. I did know the kick was maybe getting too techno but thought it was subtle enough.
From the comments it seems my entry sounds generic... and too ambient?.
FWIW, I only used VST's and played most parts. One sample that I did not play was the chant which came from Eduardo Tarilonte's Forest Kingdom II. Most pads came from Lunaris Pads (awesome pad VST). No omnisphere and no Zero G samples and no I did not copy another production.

Anyway, since my entry seems a bit too far out from expectations, and lack of motivation and time, I am going to bow out of this comp
Carry on gents and good luck

[VCA-089]

I have updated my post with final submission...

[Mister Fox]

Anyway, since my entry seems a bit too far out from expectations, and lack of motivation and time, I am going to bow out of this comp
Carry on gents and good luck

That is unfortunate to read. The production was not completely off - it just needs fine-tuning as slight course correction. There was a lot of content in there that had a great concept. You still got 3 days, maybe try and stay with us, please. Address the beat at least, make the main pad "loop" just a tad more interesting.

Other than that, thanks for the clarification on the sample usage. Indeed, there was no need to mention that "yet". But if you want that track to be reviewed and placed on the scoreboard, please update your post regardless. It would be sad to see you just bow out.



@SoundBeing, @becsei_gyorgy -- I will get to your feedback over the course of the next couple of hours (I'll make individual posts). Apologies towards @VCA-089, but as mentioned in the second post, only up to two feedback posts by me (aka: the "virtual client" this month).

[Koekepan]

Here is my expanded version, developed on the same basis that I used for the original sound design sample.

The higher tension part can be separated and looped as needed, or the whole thing could be looped. It's all very separable, depending upon your needs.

While I did not use taikos or similar elements, I did layer in some virtual percussion to introduce a feeling of hurrying, and of confusion.

Please let me know where you would like me to take this for a final version.

https://ufile.io/l00mvnre

[Mister Fox]

Thank you Mister Fox for the detailed feedback.
Here is my 2nd submission (I updated the link in my first post as well)

Hi becsei_gyorgy,


thank you for providing a revision of your production. You did a lot of subtle changes here, that have quite the impact on the "final" product so to speak. You removing Zebra for example, thins out a lot of the low-end that did actually worked in the first WIP intro section, while the rumble in the second half did not. Now adding a bass every other beat instead of the rumble is so much more balanced, but now the intro feels a bit flat.

Technically:
There are more things to balance still... like the "arp melody" during the soloist vocal part gets drown on headphones (mentioned that before, maybe open up the LPF just a tad here), but is noticeable on small speakers of course (except for the part around 1:20min and following on small speakers). The "shooting star" sound FX could move around a bit more (IMHO), it mostly stayed on the right side. But that's just me. And some bells (especially towards the end, like the DX7 type bells parallel to the theremin type lead) feel a bit offset to the general rhythm that is going on. On Small Speakers, I only "feel" the half beat bass, but I don't notice it being there.

Overall, your mix went more organic so to speak, more real instruments and away from synthetic. As you said... "minimalist, like recent Battletech games". While this is not bad, I just... miss the final piece of icing (low-end). Then again, without knowing how the soundscape of the game will be (rumbles, explosions, alert noises, UI, VO, etc), it is hard to find a proper balance. This is why I listen to two different environments (headphones and small PC speakers).


This is my second and therefore final feedback for your entry. Your song is starting to grow on me, and I get the overall concept. Fine-tuning is your main task for the final days of this month's competition though. Invest in the time given to you, blow us all away with your final mix.

Definitely looking forward to it.

[Mister Fox]

I would like to submit this composition for consideration. This is the introduction of the story, beginning with our hero walking a tight rope, subsequently interrupted by an alarm that warns of a lightning storm. And so begins the saga of our hero and the Blackout of 2250.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9jbb595ez2wd ... 0.wav?dl=0

...


I’ve been enjoying everyones songs thus far and have to say that I’m very impressed with them all.

Hi SoundBeing,

thank you for joining this endeavor as well, and I'm glad to read you're enjoying this month's overall theme and premise.


After listening to the song for the first time on headphones (I usually give each entry 3-4 listens), I had to put down the cans and process. Is it within the given premise... Well, blurred lines yet again. No, because the first section of the song feels like it comes from an RPG, although both FTL and Battletech have sections like that. But also definitely "yes" once the "lighting storm warning" goes off at the 2:35min mark. Then this turns into a quite interesting, yet minimalist sound design piece that can work as a "distress/rescue mission". This section fits the premise outstandingly well and is less upbeat than all other entries so far.


Technically:
Very, very interesting concept and sound design. From all current entries, yours is the most experimental. Albeit it is very repetitive and drags on a lot(!) until the end. I'm not going to lie, I jumped forward in the production the first time around. Only to then rewind and listen to all the intricate details you've devised. If this is all created in realtime during rendering (multiple recording stages), this is quite the feat and definitely not easy to go back and change things at will.

Which brings me to the main topic... there could be more interesting stuff in places. The problem is, I can't even tell you what. It really does feel like a mission from Battletech, or even long building sessions in old Westwood's "DUNE 2" (Real Time Strategy), less so "Stellaris" or "Master of Orion". Adding more melodic elements or chords/sustained bass, I don't know if that would work. On headphones, you definitely "feel" more what is going on, "the situation at hand". While on small speakers, things feel chaotic and distressed and you're subconsciously pushed to "hurry", maybe do a mistake in the process. I really like that concept.

So what could change? Maybe the intro section up until 2:35. At this point, the orchestra is really dry and feels like cheesy General MIDI synthesizer setup (even if it isn't). If you want to keep it, maybe add more "synthetic" elements rather than just gradual sound corruption. If you want to remove it and just start with the alarm, then maybe consider adding a bit more pieces of interest (like the aforementioned sustained synth bass, or bass drops), and/or add this high squealing/buzzing sound that you could hear in The Prodigy's "Firestarter" (I don't mean the guitar). Try to round out the frequency spectrum a bit, make things just a tad more interesting over this 5min long sound design journey.


I'm quite positively surprised about this production. Please do invest the time during the final 2,5 days. Maybe you can build upon this concept some more.

Looking forward to the update.

[Mister Fox]

Technically, that WIP was released after my given deadline for feedback. But I think I'll turn a blind eye on this one. Maybe another one. Depends on what will happen the next 24-36 hours (as I'm busy behind the scenes with Mix Challenge related stuff).

Here is my expanded version, developed on the same basis that I used for the original sound design sample.

The higher tension part can be separated and looped as needed, or the whole thing could be looped. It's all very separable, depending upon your needs.

While I did not use taikos or similar elements, I did layer in some virtual percussion to introduce a feeling of hurrying, and of confusion.

Please let me know where you would like me to take this for a final version.

Hi Koekepan,


thank you for following up on your initial entry with an 8min long production. Now I am able to not only get a proper idea of your concept, but can also give you suitable feedback.

Overall, you understood the given premise. However, you went plenty of steps away from what you initially provided. Different chord progression, different arp melody sequence, etc. I thought you were building of this, instead you present a complete new concept. And I have to point out, the "beat section" is going a bit off the rails as well.


Technically:
Interesting work with pads and arpeggios (sadly not the same with your initial 1min snippet). Things sound a bit dull on headphones, and there is this huge jump on perceived loudness between 3:55 and 6:40 where the "rhythm section" resides. This is just a too stark contrast in my opinion. The synth brass only emphasizes this (which is even louder on top of everything). I think you went a bit too far on the "screaming battle theme" element here. On small speakers, the balance for the ambient section is okay, but I wish the arpeggio bass (mid-melody) would be a bit louder. The percussion (which feels like a Cajon and/or random surface tapping) and brass section is too intense here as well. Especially the synth brass.

Overall, I wish there would be a bit more melodically at least for the "battle section" to counter-act the overbearing sounds. Maybe pull back on the chorus and reverb of that synth as well to let it "gel" better into the mix. To me, this section needs the most work. And you definitely need to take another look at both the volume and frequency balance of your production.


Since this is my second and therefore final feedback for your entry, this is all I can give you on the way. Other than that, and since you're new on the platform, please get everything in order: proper filename, downloadable link, what equipment you've used. Good examples for your post (ideally initial post, updated, use phpbb's editing function) in this very thread are from EsteveCorbera, TojakEW and VCA-089. I hope you continue working on the production, maybe even recover something from the original demo.

I'm curious about the final result.

[canese]

I've adressed some of the great feedback you guys gave me. I'm just asking for little bit of help here, because I struggle a lot with mastering.


The song composition is over (I won't have more time to change it) but if you could lend me your ears and have a listen to the overall sound and master of the track it would mean a lot to me.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aDHA83 ... sp=sharing (with propper name I hope )

Ty, guys.

[zach.simao]

hey all,

stumbled on this site a few days ago and was so stoked to see something like this going on! I'm definitely excited to get more involved in the forum going forward, but I still wanted to throw something together for this challenge.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TGXnUa ... sp=sharing

thanks for keeping this up Mister Fox! so cool to see this is happening.

Edit:

Here’s the instrumentation I used….

Soft synths including Softube parallels, softube 84, uhe repro
Rev and substance instruments from output
Kontakt

Plug-ins include soundtoys 5 bundle for sound design and some stock eqs/ compressors for utility duty. Mixed in logic, mastered with ozone

[canese]

I just updated my original post and made my entry final. Good to see and hear so many songs!